Quinoa Breakfast Bowl – A Quick, Simple & Delicious Vegan Breakfast

A delicious breakfast bowl, packed full of nutrients. Made with protein-rich quinoa and topped with fruit, nuts, milk and a sprinkling of unrefined sugar, this is a breakfast to set you up for the day.

DON’T LOSE THIS RECIPE! PIN IT FOR LATER…

The Qunioa Breakfast Bowl : Inspired by travel

Looking for a healthy new breakfast? This Qunioa breakfast bowl is incredibly nutritious and easy to make and may be just the change you need.

I don’t know about you, but I love discovering new things to eat and travel is the best inspiration. Whatever the reasons for travelling abroad, it is always an opportunity to discover new foods and experience new ways to prepare, serve and eat already familiar ingredients. Sometimes, the least expected menu choices become the ones that top the ‘must try and make when I get home’ list.

This is one such dish… stumbled upon during a visit to the States a few years back on a journey to Utah and a town called Moab. Moab is the gateway to the popular national parks of Canyonlands and Arches. If you ever find yourself down that way, make absolutely sure to go there to see the amazing geographical wonders that nature has created.

Sight-seeing aside, you can also find some great healthy food. On recommendation, we ate a couple of meals (lunch and breakfast) at the Peace Tree Juice Cafe in Moab, which serves great nutritional, tasty and organic foods. Lunch consisted of a wonderful Apple, Walnut, Goats Cheese and Cranberry Salad… But it was this amazing vegan breakfast which really bowled me over. The natural simplicity of ingredients, as well as the interesting combination of textures, flavours and colours are unexpectedly delicious. And the nourishment and ability to sustain you for hours, make this quinoa bowl a total winner.

What’s in the Quinoa Bowl and is it a Vegan Breakfast?

Easy to Prepare

The beauty of this quinoa breakfast bowl, is that it requires very little preparation, making it perfect for those in a hurry. If you pre-prepare your quinoa by cooking (without any seasoning, salt or sugar) and ‘bulk’-store in the fridge, you can have this prepped in 5 minutes in the morning. It is simply a case of adding dried fruit and nuts, a little extra sweetness and topping with some milk (hot or cold… the choice is yours).

Healthy Vegan Ingredients

All the ingredients in this recipe are vegan, using plant-basedalmond, coconut or an alternative milk in place of dairy. I’ve tried it with a whole range of vegan milks and all have been good. If you prefer dairy however, then by all means use it. There are really no rules about how you eat your quinoa breakfast…

But be sure to sweeten naturally… A sprinkle of unrefined sugar (such as coconut palm or brown) is not only a little bit healthier, but adds a gorgeous, decadent caramel depth to your breakfast bowl. If you prefer a liquid drizzle, opt for a natural syrup. Maple, date or fruit syrups are perfect. Not vegan? Top with a splash of runny honey.

Pick
fruit and nuts for your quinoa breakfast bowl as the mood takes you too… Your choice
will vary the texture, flavour and character as
well as natural colour, sweetness and a little contrasting
tartness. A sprinkle of nuts will guarantee crunch and extra body and
depending on your choice, a diversity of flavour including a hint of bitterness
to compliment the caramel notes mingling from the coconut palm sugar.

For
my breakfast bowl, I picked the fruit and nuts for their amazing vibrant,
natural colours and complementary flavours. The original quinoa bowl that I had
in Utah, used cranberries and walnuts. I’ve also thrown in some blueberries and
Iranian pistachios.

Either way, this is a dish packed full of good stuff and full of
slow-release energy to set you up for the day ahead.

What’s so great about Quinoa and why is it a perfect base for a Vegan Breakfast Bowl?

Quinoa (pronounced ‘keen-wa’) originates as an ancient South American staple. A whole-grain seed, it has grown massively in popularity in recent years, particularly in gluten free, vegetarian and health-aware circles. Quinoa offers an unusually high source of plant-based protein, and is also a great slow-release carbohydrate (and therefore low-GI). In addition, it is packed with fibre, calcium and other essential nutrients.

Quinoa makes for an ideal vegan breakfast base, not least because it is a complete protein. This means it contains all nine essential amino acids (rare in plant-based ingredients). It also contains high levels of anti-inflammatory phytonutrients which may be potentially beneficial in the prevention and treatment of disease. If that isn’t enough to convince you… when cooked, it has a great texture and flavour and is amazingly versatile as an alternative to rice, couscous, bulgar wheat or ground as a gluten-free flour source.

If
you use coconut or almond milk, this breakfast bowl is almost as virtuous as
they come… In addition to being gluten free, it is also dairy free, soya
free, vegan and refined sugar free.

Not sure how to cook Quinoa for your Bowl?

Quinoa
is really easy to cook, but you need to give it the right amount of liquid and
time to absorb. Typically, it needs twice the amount of liquid to dried volume
of quinoa to puff and pop open the kernels. Get it right and you will have
moist, fluffy quinoa. Get it wrong and the result may be gritty and tough… Not
the best way to enjoy your quinoa breakfast!

I’ve put together a helpful guide on How To Cook Quinoa (with illustrations and a handy Infographic), which takes you step by step through the quinoa cooking process.

Have you tried the Quinoa Breakfast Bowl?

As always, if you give this recipe a try, let me know. I love to hear from you. It makes recipe-sharing so much more fun! There are loads of ways to contact me… Leave a comment on the post, rate it, take a pic and post it on social media and tag me in. You’ll find me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

So that’s my take on the quinoa breakfast bowl that I fell in love with in Moab. I hope you love it too.

Have you any favourite recipes that have been inspired by travel? Let me know!

Kate xx

Other Recipes Inspired by Travel on Gluten Free Alchemist & From Fellow Bloggers

Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

A delicious breakfast bowl, packed full of nutrients. Made with protein-rich quinoa and topped with fruit, nuts, milk and a sprinkling of unrefined sugar, this vegan recipe will set you up for the day.

This page may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and go on to buy the product recommended, I will get a very small commission. You will not however be charged any more than if you went direct to the site.

I will only ever recommend products that I actually have in my kitchen or would buy myself.

Please note that where a recipe contains alcohol, it is NOT suitable for children. Always drink and use alcohol responsibly. For more information, see the Drink Aware website.

This looks so healthy. I’m also struggling for a healthier me, I’ve even start running with SportMe marathon training app and I can say I’m on the right track now. Nutrition is an important part of my losing weight plan, and your blog posts are a true inspiration!

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About Me

Welcome to Gluten Free Alchemist. I’m Kate – gluten free recipe developer, traveller, photographer, blogger and mum to a Coeliac teenager… living Coeliac life without limits. Join our family journey as I share recipe and travel adventures and as we support each other in overcoming life’s Coeliac hurdles. Read More…

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